The Betty Bridal Story

The Betty teamcomes to the Charleston area with more than 15 years of bridal experience. The team has extensive experience with client service, deep and longstanding relationships with designers, a robust selection of sample gowns and strong ties within the local bridal industry. We have come from around the nation to open this special atelier, in what we feel is the most exciting bridal city in the country. We cannot wait to meet you and discuss your vision for yourown beautiful and unique wedding day!

What Betty Bridal Means to Us

The Atelier is named after Betty Koepenick Crosby, the grandmother of Rachel Mistretta, the shop’s founder and owner. Betty was born in Washington, D.C. in 1923and grew up in the Nation’s Capital. At the age of 21, she married Glen Koepenick in 1944. In the suburbs of Washington, D.C., they raised three children together who blessed Betty with 10 grandchildren. After Glen passed away suddenly at age the young age of 48, Betty met the second love of her life, Ted Crosby, and they were married in 1972. With that marriage, she became the proud stepmother to 4 more children that brought her an additional 10 grandchildren. Betty's greatest joys were her children and grandchildren, and they adored her in kind. She passed away in 2015 at the age of 92, but her legacy and spirit live on, and are the inspiration for Betty Bridal Atelier Charleston.

Rachel Mistretta - Owner

Rachel grew up in the bridal industry. From her teenage years through her graduation from college, she worked for a top bridal salon in the Washington, D.C. area. Rachel earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio State University in 1996. After graduation, she developed her business skills in the finance industry until the fall of 2004. However, she had always desired to return to the bridal and fashion industry, and in the fall of 2004 she left finance to pursue a career with Ultimate Bride in Chicago, where she remained until February 2016. In her time with Ultimate Bride she learned even more about the bridal industry, and honed her knowledge of high fashion brands. She gained invaluable experience about client service, sales and store buying. As family connections afforded her many trips to Charleston over the years, she began to recognize a void in that market and began to explore the idea of opening her own store. She was supported by her colleagues in Chicago as well as her designers that she had worked with for so many years. In March of 2016, she moved to Charleston to begin construction of Betty, which opened in May of 2016.